When to suspect nosocomial fever?

Fever is common in hospitalized patients and is is one of the serious cause of significant morbidity and mortality. Investigation of these fever should be different because these fevers are result of exposure to hospital bugs and may be due to our intervention. Immediate and accurate diagnosis will result in patient receiving appropriate treatment.

Table 2	Causes of nosocomial fever
Infection Urinary tract infection Pneumonia Bacteremia Skin and soft tissue infection Central nervous system infection Catheter-related gastrointestinal infection Peritonitis Sinusitis Upper respiratory infection Diverticulitis Cholangitis Vascular infection Device-related colitis Tuberculosis Human immunodeficiency virus/Acquired immune deficiency syndrome
Inflammation Aspiration Acute respiratory distress syndrome Arthritis Autoimmune condition Adrenal insufficiency Connective-tissue disorder Drug-induced fever Acalculous cholecystitis Phlebitis Procedure-related pancreatitis Hematoma Thrombosis Sickle-cell crisis Gastrointestinal bleeding Graft-versus-host disease IV contrast reaction
Ischemia Stroke Myocardial infarction Pulmonary embolism Bowel ischemia
Malignancy Leukemia Lymphoma Nonhematologic cancer

A practical approach to diagnosis is discussed in this article.